


Why are there hearts doodled around your teacher's name?

by orphan_account



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Student/Teacher, F/F, High School
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-01
Updated: 2016-04-26
Packaged: 2018-05-30 13:32:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 8,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6425917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Regina Mills has finally reached her senior year and she wants nothing more than to be out of the hellhole that is Storybrooke High. That is until her new government and politics teacher Miss Swan comes into play. The carefree blonde is uncouth and has an abundant lack of respect for student/teacher boundaries and Regina cannot help her fascination.<br/>A.K.A<br/>The Swan Queen Teacher/Student AU with Emma as the unorthodox teacher and Regina as the seemingly unimpressed student.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Early starts and trashy pop songs

**Author's Note:**

> I would like to begin with apologies about my butchering of the English language. I like to throw in words and punctuation that should probably (definitely) not be there, so I hope this is like semi-readable (can I pull out the English-is-not-technically-my-first-language card?). Secondly, I have exactly 0 knowledge about the American schooling system. Like seriously none (what are credits? Do you get to choose classes? Are AP classes for smart people? Who knows? Not me), so please do forgive me for any inaccuracies (and feel more than free to point them out so I can avoid them in the future). Thank you for reading. All mistakes are mine. I own nothing. I hope you enjoy!

Heels echoed down a dim hallway as Regina Mills made her way to the school library.  Having the mayor for her mother meant that lateness was never an option, and since the only way of transport she had to school was her mother’s car, she was forced into a daily ritual of being ridiculously early for school. Not _half an hour of loitering and classes will start_ early, no, she was forced to be _I am literally the only student in this school right now and half the lights haven’t been switched on yet_ early.

Most days Regina found that she didn’t mind too much; it gave her a chance to study, which in turn meant less work after school. However even Regina I-have-so-many-flash-cards-they-could-probably-last-me-till-university Mills couldn’t think of anything to do on the 1st of September. She had done copious amounts of revision in the summer and had no more assignments until school actually started.

The brunette sighed, moving slowly as she had no-where to rush to. It was around her third turn in the general direction of the library that something caught her attention. She paused with a furrowed brow and yes – there it was, the distinct sound of muffled music. _Strange_ she thought, she was aware the teachers were already at school, especially with it being the first day and all, but in all her years at Storybrooke High she had never known one to play music in the mornings.

She decided to go and investigate the sound. _It’s not like I have anything better to do_ she figured. She followed the noise which grew louder and louder until she finally located it’s source. At this point she could hear the lyrics with clarity and vaguely recognised the piece to be one of the new popular pop songs that she always heard people humming. It was at the moment she was faced with an open door reading  **Government and Politics** that she heard singing accompanying the background music.

Regina frowned at the scene. Government and politics had always been taught by Mr. Jackson and the voice she heard now was definitely female. She had never particularly liked Mr. Jackson, he tended to be extremely repetitive and was notorious for losing people’s assignments but the thought of a new teacher troubled her for some reason. This was one of her most important classes and she disliked the possibility of getting an even worse teacher.

Curiosity got the better of her as she decided to take a peek into the room. Amongst the cardboard boxes that littered the desks she saw a woman with incredible blonde curls. She was wearing jeans, converse and a tank top and Regina was immediately concerned about the level of professionalism this new teacher would be capable of. Despite such thoughts, however, a small smile grew on her face as she continued to watch the dancing and singing figure. The new teacher was engrossed in the music and clearly had no idea she was being watched as she shook her hips and bobbed her head.

The blonde turned to grab something out of one of the boxes when she noticed that there was, in fact, someone standing at her door. She jumped back and caught her elbow on one of the desks, wincing in pain.

“Jesus Christ you scared me” she exclaimed with wide eyes.

Regina meant to respond but she found all her words had mysteriously disappeared the moment her new teacher turned around. She was gorgeous, with sculpted cheekbones and eyes that couldn’t quite decide whether they were blue or green. Not that Regina thought she was attractive or anything, she could very much objectively admire a woman’s beauty. _For aesthetic purposes of course_. Which did not in any way explain why she suddenly found herself to be tongue tied, and why her heart had chosen that exact moment to speed up, and why the palms of her hands were suddenly swea- and well you get the picture.

“How long have you been standing there?” The beautiful blonde asked bashfully, rubbing the back of her neck with a violent blush blooming across her cheeks.

Regina’s brain was not currently capable of making coherent sentences so she pointed to the hallway and muttered “I’ll….just…erm…leave…sorry….I….erm”. _Well done Regina, you’re definitely making a great  first impression on your future teacher._ She turned on her heel and began to walk (let's be honest - run) away.

“Wait, hang on” The blonde’s voice stopped Regina in her tracks. “I had no idea there was someone who would be walking around here and I’m just embarrassed at what you had to witness, please don’t go”

Regina turned back around.

“Why don’t we start over? My name is Emma and I’m the new government and politics teacher” She beamed at the brunette. “Are you one of the students?”

Regina’s heart clenched at the awkwardly adorable woman in front of her. She thanked all the higher deities that her voice had finally returned to her.

“My name is Regina Mills, I’m a senior here” she held out her hand and the blonde shook it, lingering a little longer than necessary. “I apologise for staring, it’s just not often that I hear teachers playing music and curiosity got the best of me.”

“No, no, please there’s nothing to apologise for. I should probably apologise for making you witness that.”

Regina smiled and the blonde smiled back at her with a glint in her eyes.

“As you can see I’m trying to decorate my classroom” she gestured to the boxes scattered around her “but I don’t really have much of an eye for it”.

Emma tilted her head to the side and grinned sheepishly. “You wouldn’t happen to be willing to help me out, would you?”

Regina’s heart leapt and her smile grew wider. “I would love to. Are you sure it’s alright? I mean, is it okay for me to help you? I’m only a student.”

“Well it’s not like there’s anyone around here to spot us and I could use a friendly face in this new place” she paused before backtracking “unless, of course you’re worried about being a teacher’s pet or something, in which case I understand. I try to make it a point to befriend my students but some don’t feel comfortable being friends with a _teacher_ ” she faked an exaggerated gasp.

Regina laughed before replying. “You’re a teacher, you’re not allowed to make ‘friends’ with the students, it’s inappropriate” she chastised. The words didn't have much of an effect as her facial expression didn't match them in the slightest.

“Well that’s a great shame Regina Mills because it’s too late. I hereby declare you my first friend at Storybrooke High and there’s nothing you can do about it” Emma winked – ACTUALLY WINKED – at her student. “So how about these displays? You think you can handle a staple gun?”

Regina determined that her face muscles no longer fell under her control as she couldn't get rid of that stupid smile. _Well_ she thought _maybe my morning won’t be so boring after all._


	2. Converse and high heels

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter wasn't actually supposed to happen, what was that about having a plan? I'm sorry if it feels slightly rushed. Think of this as a fluffy filler, the next update will be up really soon (probably later today). Thank you for reading!

The rest of Regina's morning flew by in a rush. Having lost complete track of time, the school bell was a very rude awakening. For the first time in her life Regina had to _rush_  to get to her class on time. 

Swept up in the sea of arriving students she was carried down to her homeroom. Choosing her usual seat at the back, no one paid much attention to her. Her mother had brought her up to be _seen not heard, Regina please cease that pointless babbling._  The brunette Latina was therefore often ignored for her quietness. She liked it that way. When she was required to converse with others she was perfectly polite, but even so the rest of the students were too scared to be friends with the mayor's daughter. 

Sometimes Regina heard whispers in the hallway calling her ruthless mother the 'Queen of Hearts' and she couldn't help but agree. She loved her mother, of course, but there was no denying that Cora Mills believed in tough love. Most often without the love. 

When Regina received her schedule she was disappointed to see that she wouldn't have Government and Politics until her last period. She gazed at the little white rectangle reading  **Government and Politics, Miss Swan, Room 206** with longing. _Miss Swan, huh?_ She couldn't believe that in the almost three hours she spent with the woman she hadn't actually asked for her surname. It was all too easy to forget that the beautiful, clumsy blonde was actually a teacher and Regina found herself calling her Emma, as it was the name she provided. 

Perhaps she was being a bit selfish but Regina Mills was not used to being someone's favourite, and the idea that perhaps this was about to change meant she was ecstatic to return to her classroom.  Hearing her homeroom tutor drone on about how "glad" he was to see them and how they all had to "work extremely hard" Regina gradually zoned out. She was in her own little glass bubble, cutting off all outside noise and images as she reminisced about her early morning. 

After inviting her into her classroom Emma gestured to a large display of European superpowers behind her. As enamoured as Regina was, she had to admit the blonde certainly lacked any artistic skill. 

"I don't mean to be rude..." Regina began. 

"It looks awful doesn't it?" Emma turned to Regina with a pained expression and those _big, damn_ _puppydog_ _eyes._   

Regina felt her heart clench. She hated having to tell the blonde the truth, but she had no choice . The board behind her was truly a monstrosity. The posters had no real order, and in the chaos it appeared that Emma got a bit trigger happy with her staple gun, as little bent wires could be seen poking out from all over the board. 

Emma sighed at Regina's silence "I don't mind re-doing it but, as you can, tell I just don't know how to set it up". 

Sudden determination overtook Regina's features "I'll do it". 

"Are you sure? It's pretty hard work. I wouldn't want you to get hurt." She laughed "can you imagine that? 'Storybrooke High's new teacher maims student on her first day', I can already see the headlines!" 

"I promise to be careful" 

"Well in that case it's all yours. I'll help you take this down and then leave you to it, there's still tons more things I need to do around here." 

For the next couple minutes the pair worked together to pull the display off. Emma was on the ladder getting rid of the top half and Regina worked on the bottom. Emma unconsciously went back to humming the song currently playing, which soon escalated into full singing. It didn't bug the brunette as Emma had a lovely voice. 

Emma's playlist turned out to be a perfect reflection of herself. Chaotic, mismatched and entirely unpredictable. Regina quickly gave up on trying to guess the kind of music that would come up next as the songs cycled from pop, to Disney, to musicals, to old classics, to ballads, and back to pop. Regina suspected this was Emma's favourite playlist as she knew all the lyrics and could always predict which song was coming next. 

"There. All done" Emma turned to Regina "You have my absolute permission to go crazy on this thing. If you want to do something – do it. Worst case scenario we take it down and start over once again" 

"Some of us actually have artistic talent" Regina sassed with a raised brow. She immediately regretted her words, realising that she might come off as rude. It was far too early for nastiness to be interpreted as friendly banter. It was hopeless, the new teacher somehow lowered her inhibitions and she couldn't help but feel like she had known her for years. _Is this what it feels like to 'click' with another person?_  

Instant relief flooded her body like a cool shower when Emma responded by lightly smacking her arm with an expression of false outrage, followed by an easy smile. 

"Oh, hang on a second" the blonde exclaimed "there is no way I'm letting you on this ladder in those heels". 

Regina glanced down at her body. She was wearing her usual ensemble of a coloured silk blouse, tight pencil skirt, tights and of course ridiculously high heels.  

"Buuuut if you take them off" Emma continued with a pensive look on her face "you'll be left with tights which are way too slippery for a metal ladder" 

She continued to stare at Regina for several seconds before seemingly having a 'eureka!' Moment. She reached down to untie her own white low-top converse. 

"I'm sorry to have to do this but safety first. You look like your feet are around the same size as mine, would you mind putting my shoes on? It would really help ease my mind, I swear these are practically brand new" the blonde rambled.

She held out the converse to Regina who reluctantly took them and slipped them on in place of her own heels.  

Emma fought to hide a small smile. _This must be a fantastic look on me. A pencil skirt, blouse and white converse,_ Regina's thoughts were dripping with sarcasm. 

Her embarrassment faded, however, as she spotted her teacher's mismatched socks. One with little green frogs and the other sporting blue polka dots. She then had to fight to hide her own smile but as soon as her chocolate eyes made contacts with bright green ones the duo burst out laughing.  

"We ma...ke a fi..ne pai...r Mi..lls" Emma stuttered through her laughter. 

After that the two made easy conversation as they worked on their separate tasks. Emma gradually got more and more comfortable. This meant that over two hours later Regina had sat through 12 Emma renditions of her favourite songs, 3 choreographed dances and 4 over the top performances of musical theatre numbers. She was seriously starting to wonder if this was all a crazy dream as Emma climbed onto the teachers desk to finish her performance of Wicked's 'popular' (most of which was directed at Regina, who glared daggers at the suggestion of a makeover, but whose heart skipped about 10 beats when Emma looked directly into her eyes telling her she was beautiful). 

_If this is a dream_  she thought _I never want it to end._  

"I'm finished" she told Emma as the teacher climbed off her desk. 

"Wow Regina, that looks amazing" she said with obvious awe, closely inspecting her new display. 

"Thank you" Regina blushed at the compliment. She turned to get off the ladder but her shoe snagged on one of the ridges and she completely lost her balance. She shut her eyes tight and braced for the pain of hitting the wooden floor. The pain never came, however, as instead she felt strong arms engulf her frame. She opened her eyes and her breath hitched at the close proximity to the blonde's face. From here she could make out the extremely light dusting of freckles across her nose. She instinctively wrapped her arms around the teacher's neck to relieve some of the weight. _Not that, you know, getting down couldn't have done that_ whispered some treacherous part of her brain.  

The blonde stood there with Regina in her arms for what felt like hours, until the obnoxious ringing of the school bell startled them apart and Regina rushed out to get to homeroom with a quick "goodbye" thrown over her shoulder, only slowing down to switch her shoes. 

Emma wasn't left with much time to think over what just happened as her new students began to filter in. She put her converse on and walked over to the board where she wrote **Miss Swan**  in large cursive. She turned back to the unfamiliar faces lazily flopping down onto the chairs. 

"Welcome class, I'm miss Swan and I'll be your new homeroom tutor....." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you can probably tell I'm planning on hitting ALL the cliches I can think of in this fic. ALL.OF.THEM. Also I'm assuming homeroom is the equivalent of a British Tutor Group but if I'm totally off the mark please feel free to correct me. I can also see that it looks like everything is happening really fas,t but I swear the flirting and romantic moments will cool off when Emma properly starts teaching Regina (well for like a chapter or two at least). Ly all. Thank you for reading :*


	3. Resolves, vows and forbidden crushes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is a little short but it is a double update. I hate writing angst and you will probably be able to tell this, these are probably going to be two of the angstiest chapters of this fic but I swear it's mostly fluff from now on. This chapter is written in Emma's POV because I felt it might have been slightly confusing from Regina's and this is after all both their journey. Nothing like a good old 'oh no feelings' Emma panic amirite? I hope you enjoy!

By the time 5th period rolled around Emma was cursing herself for ever becoming a teacher. Who in their right mind chooses to spend the majority of their day talking at stonefaced, angsty teenagers?  _Oh that's right. Me._   

She had tried to implement as much interaction as possible into her lessons, allowing the children to get to know her better by asking her questions, and getting them involved in a series of physical activities. However somewhere between the third person who asked if she was a virgin and the fifth person's deep groan at the mere mention of  _actually moving their body_ , she gave up entirely. 

It was therefore with great displeasure that she turned to her new senior class to welcome them with her usual "hi, I'm new, please think I'm cool" speech (not in that exact wording, but the message was the same). 

That is until, amongst the acne-ridden, greasy haired crowd she spotted plump red lips, shiny dark hair and chocolate eyes. 

"Regina" she whispered under her breath, thankfully not loud enough for anyone to have heard her. 

Emma felt awfully conflicted about her experiences with the student. Her morning had been fantastic. True; she was a fairly bold person, but she was entirely surprised with how comfortable she felt around the brunette. And this in itself was  _very very bad._

Having been around for a good 26 years Emma was pretty great at analysing her own feelings. She knew what all the meaningful glances, easy laughter and playful banter added up to. It added up to the blonde not willing to touch the topic with a 10 foot pole.  

Crushes themselves were bad enough, but a crush on a  _student_? No. Nuh uh. Not happening. Didn't happen. Thank you very much. 

Not only was she years older, but she was a teacher.  _Her_ teacher.  _Well done Swan. You've really done it this time._  

She couldn't believe the effect that Regina had had on her within the space of one day. 

Guilt did not even begin to cover what Emma felt as she battled to push the thoughts to the back of her brain. Her first day of school would not see her acting completely unprofessional. Hell, her entire year would not see her acting unprofessional towards a student. She was a mentor and she needed trust and respect. Thoughts like those would get her neither. For the 36th time Emma vowed that she would never forget herself like she did today. No over-friendliness with students. No meetings outside designated school hours. And most certainly no more extra contact with the gorgeous Latina seated in her third row. 

It was with this mentality that the blonde began to teach her senior class. She saw Regina's attempts to catch her eye and her quiet smiles and blatantly ignored them. In fact she may have gone a bit overboard and completely ignored the brunette herself. Each time she raised her olive-toned hand to answer one of her teacher's numerous questions, the blonde made it a point to pick someone – _anyone_ - else. By the end of the class she couldn't help but notice the hurt in her student's eyes. 

_It's for the best_  Emma assured herself. 

_It's for the best and it also fucking sucks._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have you noticed that I actually have no clue how to use commas? Like I just kind of throw them in wherever I feel like, please forgive me. As I said I'm not really one for angst so everything will clear up soon and go back to being cliche upon a cliche. Thank you for reading!


	4. Saviours and questionable drug use

By the end of the first week Regina was positively  _fuming_. 

_How dare she?_ _How dare that stupid, stunning, incredible, awful Emma Swan treat me like this?_

At first it had been confusion. She had practically raced to her Government and Politics class in hopes of seeing one of her teacher's genuine smiles directed at her. 

Instead she got indifference.  

The worst part is she had absolutely no idea  _why_. 

For the first time in her life she saw a chance of being truly valued by someone for who she was, and it was taken away as soon as she saw it.  _Typical_  she scowled  _who in their right mind would want to get to know me? The 'class loner' and 'mayor's precious daughter'. I knew it was too good to be true._

She had hoped as hard as she could that her first class was a one off occurrence. Emma was probably tired of dealing with children all day and it made her grumpy. Which would be a valid excuse had she been avoiding the rest of the class but, no, only Regina got that special privilege. 

It clearly became apparent that it was not a one off occurrence when the blonde continued to ignore her, only ever speaking to her if it was absolutely necessary or if she was the only one who raised her hand to answer.  

She had hung around the classroom in hopes of getting some answers about her teacher's strange behaviour but she was always "very busy" and "not seeing students right now".  

It wasn't until two and a half weeks into September that Regina finally got a chance to truly talk to Emma Swan. 

She was rushing down one of the schools many identical corridors after school hours, hoping her book in the library would still be where she had accidentally left it, when she slammed into a muscled torso. 

"Well look who it is. The one and only mini Mayor Mills" 

Jefferson Hatter, the school's most notorious alcoholic, grabbed Regina by her wrists. He leered at her with red rimmed eyes, a permanent feature he wore due to his severe intake of several illegal substances. 

"Let me go" 

"I don't think so your majesty. Your mummy's not here to protect you now, and if you tell anyone I promise to make the next time twice as bad" 

Regina cried out in pain as he slammed her back into the nearest locker, pinning her hands above her head. She tried to fight back, but Jefferson was clearly stronger than her, and he had her subdued in no time. 

"You have no idea how long I've been waiting to bruise up that pretty face of yours. Do you remember that time you got me in trouble with mummy for selling dugs in school? I couldn't do much then, it would be too obvious. The thing is, Regina Mills, I never forget. And I never forgive" 

Jefferson pulled back his hand and punched her square in the face. Regina felt a hot flash of pain and instant soreness around her eye. A small trickle of blood made it's way down her temple. 

 He reared back to strike her again but the flash of pain never came. Apparently stopped by a certain jean-clad blonde. 

Emma stood behind Jefferson holding his wrist, which she proceeded to twist around his back in a police-like maneuver. Her face contorted in rage. 

"What in the hell do you think you're doing?" she spat out. 

"You know what I don't want to hear it. Headmaster's office. NOW! You better pray that Gold is feeling merciful because if it were me, you would be gone faster than you can say entitled little rich boy" Emma hissed at the student with a horrifying look in her eyes. 

Jefferson stumbled out of her grasp and towards the Headmaster's office, which was thankfully within Emma's view, meaning she didn't have to leave Regina to make sure he got there. 

"Hey, are you okay?" Emma inquired, now with a look of such kindness Regina wandered how in the hell she was even capable of being so utterly terrifying. 

"I..I'm fine" she chocked out. 

Emma sighed. "No, you're not. Come on we have to get you cleaned up. The school nurse is out but I have first aid training, we're going to my room".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Miscommunication as a plot device is like my least favourite thing ever so I swear they will have some serious real talk. I'm really sorry if any parts don't make sense, I may or may not be half asleep as I write this. Next update will be out soon as I'm super excited to write the next couple of chapters. Thank you so much for reading!


	5. Hard truths and easy smiles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a pretty big time jump in this and I would like to apologise at the lack of detail. There will be scenes of their interaction later on and I didn't feel the need to spend a long time developing their friendship as they were kind of there from day 1. Or I just wanted to get to the romance. Fight me. Also I have noted that it is in fact a principal, not a headmaster, in American schools and that's what it will be from now on (forgive me pls). I will also always struggle not putting u's in every word because I'm British, so if there is inconsistency (such as the fact that I previously wrote mummy and colour but favorite in this chapter) I am again v apologetic.

The dim lights bathed Emma's classroom in a soft light. Regina was seated on one of the multiple wooden desks with her legs crossed, wincing slightly at each drop of alcohol Emma gently dabbed onto her wound. 

The blonde worked quietly, desperately trying to avoid looking into Regina's eyes in fear of what she might see in them. The silence around them was overwhelming, only amplifying the unsaid emotions floating around. 

"Thank you Em- Miss Swan" whispered the girl perched atop the desk. 

"It's no problem" Emma replied with a forced smile, still refusing to meet the girl's eyes, "it's my job". 

They continued in silence until Regina could no longer stand it. She may never get a chance like this again and damn her if she doesn't take it. 

"May I...ask you something?" 

The blonde teacher tensed and paused her ministrations. She wasn't naïve enough to not see this coming, but she had held onto the false hope that the brunette might be too shy or uncomfortable to confront her. She nodded hesitantly and continued to clean the blood off of _that ridiculously gorgeous_ face. 

"I don't mean to come off as rude or presumptuous, but at the end of our first meeting you insisted we become friends and I feel like you have had a complete change of heart." 

Regina swallowed hard before she continued. 

"Was it..did I do something wrong?" 

Emma could feel her heart breaking at the question, she decided she at least owed Regina enough to look her in the eye. What she found however, only further fueled her heartbreak as the girl's deep brown eyes only showed concern riddled with sincerity. She hadn't noticed that the hand that had been swabbing Regina's temple had instinctively dropped the wipe and come down to cup her cheek.  

_God Emma, look at what you've done. Are you really going to continue torturing this poor girl?_  

"Regina I.." 

The brunette eyed her expectantly. 

Emma sighed "I've been a complete and utter selfish asshole". 

Regina's brow furrowed in confusion.  

"I cannot begin to tell you how sorry I am for treating you this way. You didn't deserve that. You _don't_ deserve that. The truth...the truth is the first time we met I acted completely out of line. There's just something about you and I got carried away. When I saw you in class it kind of hit me that I was actually your teacher ya know?" she shrugged  "You did absolutely nothing wrong, in fact you kind of did the opposite. I hoped that maybe if I just ignored you, my wish to get to know you better would go away." 

It was the closest the blonde could get to telling Regina the truth without revealing her feelings. She knew it was a flimsy reason but it would have to do. 

"Did it?" questioned her student. 

Emma chuckled "absolutely not", she whispered with a pained smile. 

"I've barely known you for almost three weeks now and I don't believe I have ever met anyone as intelligent and driven as you. It's truly remarkable." 

Regina unconsciously leaned into her teacher's touch, her eyes locked onto sea-green ones. 

"So what now? You've told me your great dark secret, and I'm not sure I understand it. Teachers are allowed to be friendly with students – to a certain extent, many have assistants and loads have groups of students eating lunch with them. Would it really be so bad if you did get to know me?" She knew her words contradicted her strong belief in set rules, but she had done more research after their first encounter, and was surprised to find that teacher/ student friendships were surprisingly common in their school.

_Yes_ Emma thought _because I don't trust myself around you._  

"No" 

_Really, Emma, really? Does your mouth ever co-operate with your brain?_  

"It wouldn't be bad at all" 

And so, over the next couple of months Regina became Emma's right hand. She would assist her with everything, ranging from wiping down the boards to marking multiple choice questions, as Emma marked the essays in order to reduce her workload ("shh" Emma had whispered conspicuously "no one ever finds out about this, capiche?"). 

She had begun to stay after school to fulfil these tasks at the pretense of spending extra time in the library. Her mother barely paid much attention to her whereabouts, and her father had easily agreed with this arrangement. 

Regina endured the whispers of "teacher's pet" with ease as she knew it was worth it. Although it was highly embarrassing the 26 year old blonde was her only true friend, one day Emma confessed that she saw Regina as her best friend too. They may have been slightly pathetic, but they were too grateful to have each other to notice. 

The duo often shared secret smiles as they passed in the hallways, and had subtle inside jokes that once caused Emma to shoot tea out of her nose, much to the confusion of the rest of her seniors. She worked incredibly hard to treat Regina equally to any other student in the class, but it was very difficult and there were days when she relapsed back into ignoring Regina. These moments, however, ended as soon as class was over and Regina always understood, even if it frustrated her to no end. 

The bond that was present from the get go only strengthened as they gradually got to know each other better. Sometimes they would ask questions to pass the time during particularly long hours of work. Other times Emma would come up with some "new" and "innovative" question game that often ended in wild laughter and flushed cheeks. 

In between all the crazy stories, Emma had told Regina about her time in the foster system, sharing all her experiences, knowing that the soon to be 18 year old was mature enough to handle them. Regina had in turn shared her family situation and hopes for the future. They steered clear of the topic of relationships of any kind. Emma because of her awareness of her infatuation with Regina that only grew with each passing day, and Regina because, despite everything that happened, she still wished to hold onto some form of professional boundaries. 

Regina's all time favorite hours were the lunch hours, when the two of them had no work to do and usually sat around bantering back and forth or complaining about their day. They often laid out all their food on the desk and shared whatever meals they had brought with them. The brunette insisted Emma eat something healthy and green once in a blue moon, and in turn Regina was forced to let loose and consume some form of fat sugary treat.  

School slowly became just another place to Regina. Not so much a prison, but a building where she just happened to get information by listening to one of her favorite people in the world. She had no idea how she had gotten so lucky and Emma shared the sentiment, her day brightening with the presence of her little brunette ("Little Emma? Really? I'm practically the same height as you" Regina raised her eyebrow. "Ha! Only in those crazy heels you insist on wearing to school every day. Face it short stuff, without them, you're tiny") 

Feelings, although obviously present were kept in check by the student's denial and the teacher's sheer discipline. Their friendship was much too valuable to be destroyed by unrequieted... _something_  and Emma was feeling very proud of being able to hide the quickening of her pulse and the dilation of her pupils that went hand in hand with a certain brunette's close proximity. 

And then Killian Jones came into the mix.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise Killian is just a bearded plot device. There is no CS only induced jealousy because Emma is hella gay and Regina needs a lil push. Much love, thanks for reading!


	6. Broom closets and liking girls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There was supposed to be emotional hugging but, I, for some reason, found this hilarious and therefore so did Emma. Emotions and *sexual tension intensifying* promised in next chapter. Enjoy! (ps. thank you all so much for reaching over 100 kudos in 4 chapters, it means the world)

Killian Jones, the school's sole marine biology teacher, was often referred to as 'hook' due to a very unfortunate accident with a boat propeller. He actually had a pretty realistic fake hand, but students are relentless little creatures so he was stuck with 'hook'. 

It was common knowledge amongst the staff that Jones had a crazy crush on the newbie teacher. It was also pretty common knowledge that Emma Swan was 100% gay. However, such a small detail did not deter the self proclaimed "devilishly handsome" man, who vowed to win the 'confused' maiden's heart. 

Emma had successfully avoided the man for a good three months but he had recently acquired the awful habit of 'popping in' to her classroom at all hours and requesting a 'quick chat' or looking for some item that could easily be found in a teacher's supply cupboard.  Emma found him beyond tiresome and continued to be amazed at the guy's audacity and his selective hearing that didn't appear to register the word 'no'. 

The urge to complain about the sleazebag to Regina came to her often, but unfortunately she would have to disclose why she didn't wish to date him and that was a bright red no go zone. 

The main problem in the matter was that the Government and Politics teacher was entirely too _nice_  to this douche. Their little 'quick chats' and Killian's constant presence around Emma soon escalated into rumors of their secret affair or hidden marriage (depending who you asked).  The blonde was highly perplexed as to how anyone could see their interactions as _romantic_ but, alas, they were the new talk of the town. 

Regina was in the library, hunched over her history textbook, making little notes on the flashcards that were piled neatly around her, when the rumor mill finally caught up to her. She would not have been paying attention, had it not been for the insistent tapping of a freshman's fingernail a mere five centimeters from her work space. For the 4th time in a space of half an hour Regina was forced to interrupt her studying to glare at the offending hand. It was then that she caught the girl whispering to her friend across the table, despite the library's strict **no talking** rule. 

"Did you hear what Jamie said about Miss Swan and Mr Jones?"  

Regina's interest was piqued. She had noticed that Emma was seen around Mr Jones and awful lot, and she was suspicious as to why he constantly interrupted their lessons for no real reason other than to see her. Of course, like everyone else, she had her suspicions but she was pretty sure Emma would tell her if she was in a relationship with a member of staff,  _right?_  

"Apparently someone heard them making out in the broom closet" freshman number 2 squealed. 

_That's absolutely ridiculous_ Regina Scoffed _as if Emma would ever do something like that._  

She was growing increasingly angry at the girls for, well spreading false information. Somehow the thought of the information being true only increased her anger. The image the gossips were painting was oddly _painful?_ Yes – for some unknown reason the thought of someone touching Emma that way made the brunette student sick to her stomach. 

She gathered her books and stomped out of the library. 

_Why would I care? I don't care about_ _Mr_ _Jones and his stupid fake hand and stupid accent and stupid beard and..._ _shit._  

She didn't care. She really truly didn't. It just so happened the pull in her chest and the tears in her eyes didn't seem to get that memo. If she didn't know any better she would say she was jea- 

No. It's not possible. Regina Mills was definitely 110% straight. She was brought up that way, and no amounts of golden curls and emerald eyes would change that. 

Except of course _they had._  

Regina rushed to the nearest toilet and locked herself in a cubicle. Her hand was clasped over her mouth as she hyperventilated.  

Shit. She liked Emma. She _liked_ Emma.  

They had spent months in each other's presence and Regina had somehow always put down the flutter in her chest and the blush in her cheeks to a cold or the temperature.  

This would ruin everything. Crushing on a teacher was straight out of some stupid rom com and here she was. Fuck.  

Regina had no idea what to do with this new information, she had never truly liked someone before romantically and she was determined to hide her feelings. However, Regina and Emma, despite being entirely different were also horribly alike, so the brunette copied the blonde's earlier stance and began avoiding her teacher at all costs. 

Fortunately, the blonde teacher knew Regina much to well to not confront her about it and that's how she ended up seated on a chair opposite Emma's across her teacher's desk. The blonde had her best interrogation face on, narrowed eyes and pursed lips, as she stared her friend down. 

"Spill it" she instructed. 

"No" 

"Come on, Regina, don't be childish" 

Regina turned her face so she was looking out one of her teacher's windows. 

"You can't avoid me and not tell me why. Did I do something wrong? Did someone else do something? You know you can talk to me" 

Emma placed her hand over Regina's on the desk and rubbed soothing circles with her thumb. 

"I..just...recently discovered...something that might....make you...uncomfortable" 

Her teacher nodded encouragingly. 

She couldn't very well tell Emma she had a crush on her so she opted for the next best thing. Regina swallowed and said the words for the first time "I think I may like girls...romantically" 

She looked down on the wooden floor, afraid to see her teacher's reaction. Her head snapped up, however, as she heard Emma laugh.  

"I'm...sorry" she wheezed "but..I can't...believe you...thought" 

Emma wiped away the tears of laughter that had settled on her face as she calmed down. Her brunette student seemed to be even more upset at the outburst. 

"God, Regina, no I'm sorry, I'm not laughing at you I swear. I'm laughing because I thought you knew, and it's kind of ironic you were avoiding me because of this" 

"Knew what?" Regina enquired. 

"That I'm a lesbian"


	7. More classroom dancing and things left unspoken

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it has been a while, please don't hit me I love you all. I would like to reiterate that I will not abandon this fic, I just had some crazy writer's block as I needed a filler chapter before the big one that's coming up next, and I had no idea how to transition it. I've started this chapter loads of times but I had to scrap it because I hated it. The next update will be soon (hopefully tomorrow, but I make no promises). Thank you for sticking around and reading!  
> (p.s. I specifically didn't write in a song so that you can imagine your own favourite Swan Queen feels one. Headcanon away my friend)

"Knew what?"  

**"That I'm a lesbian"**

The four words rang through Regina's mind insistently over the next couple of days. Emma had found the whole ordeal to be highly humorous, but to Regina it was anything _but_. Her new found knowledge had set her on edge even more, it was just extra fuel to her crush, the very  _possibility_  of Emma liking her back.   

After the talk, during which Emma tried her best to reassure Regina and answer any questions she had, one would think they would return to their usual easy friendship. This was not entirely the case however as, although they went back to their usual routine, something seemed off.  

Well no, off may not be the right word. It just seemed like everything suddenly became amplified. Every glance and touch seemed to mean just a little bit  _more._  

Regina was terrified she was seeing it all in her head, while Emma remained adamant that she would not betray a student's trust because of something as base as her own feelings. 

And so the two continued their dance, pining in silence, reveling in the little smiles they shared in a hallway, the identical bored expressions they aimed at each other during an assembly, and especially the occasional winks they threw each other in class.  

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-. 

Emma's playlist was softly playing in the background as the student teacher combo sat around grading papers, talking and laughing about their day.  

Regina sighed as her blonde counterpart groaned once again. 

"You know maybe this would go faster if you didn't feel the need to add the special noise effects", the brunette sassed while raising her eyebrows. 

"I am perfectly entitled to grunts when an A level student writes an essay that insists Switzerland is the capital of Russia" Emma replied, taking the opportunity to throw a scrunched up post-it at her student. 

Regina's lip twitched, unable to contain her smile. 

The blonde teacher huffed as she dumped her pile of papers on her desk with a thud.  

"That's it. I have reached by idiocy tolerance level. I'm taking a break" 

Emma reclined across her teacher's chair ignoring Regina's disapproving stare. She lasted approximately 30 seconds before she grew restless again and tried to get her student's attention by poking her with a pencil.  _The rubber end, mind you, I don't have a death wish._

"Emma, honestly, you have the attention span of a child who's had too much candy" Regina chided "Half the time it feels like I'm your teacher, not the other way around" 

"But I'm so booooored" the blonde whined with a pronounced pout.  

"But you have all these exciting papers to grade" Regina smirked. This time it was Emma who adopted the deadpan unimpressed stare. 

The teacher sat for a few more minutes, constantly fidgeting, before she came up with a new way of entertaining herself.  

"Regina...." 

"No" 

"Dance with me" 

Regina tilted her head at the odd request. Looking into her teacher's eyes, however, was her key mistake as she was wearing one of her best kicked puppy faces.  

"Please" she begged as the look impossibly intensified. 

With a deep sigh, Regina put down her pen. She went to rise before hesitating and sitting back down. 

"I....I don't really know how to dance" the student admitted, blushing and looking out of the window. 

Emma, now with a massive smile, bounced up from her chair and dragged Regina up by her hand. 

"Everyone has to learn sometime" she sang as she continued manhandling her student across the room. 

Fifteen minutes , 12 pushed back desks and 24 stacked chairs later Emma deemed the classroom dance –worthy. She turned her speakers up so the music bounced across the walls. 

The blonde began to move to the upbeat rhythm around Regina who stood, somewhat awkwardly in the middle of the room.  

"All you have to do is feel the beat. Just do whatever you feel like, no one is here to judge you" Emma encouraged. 

After it became clear that the Latina had no intention of moving from her rock solid stance, the blonde took matters into her own hands – literally. 

Grabbing the younger girl's palms, Emma began to jump around to the beat, while the brunette reluctantly obliged and began to copy her movements.  

It took a couple of songs but Regina managed to loosen up enough to dance properly with Emma – not that they let go of hands, you know, just in case Regina wasn't up to dancing by herself just yet. 

_Yup. Uh huh. Sure._  

Eventually the duo got out of breath, both faces red with laughter and effort. 

Emma's playlist decided this would be an appropriate moment to do one of it's characteristic 180 flips and start on a much slower song. 

Much to both of their surprise, instead of pulling away Regina wrapped her arms around Emma's waist. The blonde responded by wrapping hers around Regina's neck as they silently swayed to the tune.  

Their eyes locked, the lyrics of the song voiced the unspoken feelings festering around them. Almost as if by some unseen force, their faces got closer and closer until they were mere centimetres apart.  

Their fear was momentarily shelved as they cautiously leaned in further, eyes flickering down to the mouth opposite.  

It was the end of the song and the start of the next one that jolted Emma out of her trance, the panic seeping back in. The track was still slow but the moment was broken. Instead of leaning in that last little bit the blonde put her arms around Regina and pulled her into a tight hug. 

The two stood there for what seemed like an eternity, locked together, each wondering when the dam was going to break irreparably. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You thought I was joking when I said all the cliches, but trust me I am not. This fic is going to be longer than I thought, as I'm currently through 5 and a half chapters of my plan and I'm on chapter eight. Once again thank you for reading. Love you all, you're all amazing :*


	8. Powerpoints and whispered swear words

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry about the update time my schedule is unfortunately ridiculous right now. The only reason I could write this chapter was because my dance lessons were cancelled and I actually had some free time. Hopefully the next update will happen around Monday as it's a bank holiday. I realised in the last chapter that I'm doing a weird mash up of an English and American school (Americans don't do A levels I don't even know what I was thinking), Sorry. I really hope you enjoy this chapter because Emma is channelling her season 5 self and being a moody teenager. Thank you for reading!

The classroom dancing fiasco played on a continuous loop inside Emma's brain. 

_Stupid. Stupid. Stupid._

With each replay of what was almost a disastrous move, the blonde teacher's mood worsened. She had even dreamed the scene the previous night (although, thankfully the real version did not include flesh eating man-lizards), and had to drink enough caffeine in the morning to drown out her own thoughts. 

_Who the hell decided that it was 'inappropriate' for teachers to turn up to class completely hammered?_

Emma Swan felt like complete and utter shit, and therefore it was to everyone's utter surprise that their usual sunny-smiles and bouncy-walks teacher stomped into the room looking entirely too capable of murder. 

Looks that ranged between curious and mildly terrified passed between the students as the scowling blonde set up the class powerpoint. Her efforts were punctuated with far too many bangs for something that only required a couple of mouse clicks.  

"Miss, are you okay?" some brave soul enquired from the back of the class. 

Emma spun around and grimaced in a way that was supposed to resemble a smile. "I'm fine. Totally dandy. A ok." She ground out unconvincingly. 

The class gulped collectively at the new side of their teacher, and apparently decided that they were too scared to interrupt her again. The lesson was delivered in a detached way that was totally uncharacteristic of the 'interaction is key to learning' blonde. By the end of copying down endless notes off of a powerpoint most students had gained a new respect for their teacher's usual style.  

A few children lingered at the end, Emma was a popular teacher and even her iciest demeanor only brought out concern from some. 

_If we were in Hogwarts, those would totally be the Gryffindors._  Emma scoffed at her odd thought, before sending them on their way in the politest way she was currently capable of. Which may or may not have been that polite at all. Oh well. 

Emma had anticipated the rest of her day to be a replica of her first lesson.  _Children come in. Children see Miss Swan is not in the mood for jokes. Children sit in silence and make notes. Children go out._

What Emma had unfortunately not anticipated, was that 14 year olds and 18 year olds are a very different story. With her amazing luck, this was one of the days in which Emma taught all her yeargroups working her way up from the youngest in her first period and the oldest in her last (with an hour break just before them).  

Her sophmore class was fairly similar to her freshmen and she was lulled into a false sense of security.  

The real trouble started with the juniors. Their boredom easily expanded into passing notes and murmured conversations that drove Emma half insane. 

"I can hear you. You know." She glared at an offending group. 

"No need to be an uptight bitch about it" mouthed a student who embodied the very definition of 'fuckboy' at the ripe age of 17. 

With a deep breath and a few choice curse words (that were unfortunately not said out loud) the teacher steadied her voice and asked him to leave for the principal's office. 

A few minutes later she had to repeat her actions after being called the c word for refusing a student a bathroom break. 

For the hundredth time Emma wandered whether the clock was broken.  _There is no way that thing is actually going this slowly._

When the bell rang, the blonde could have cried. She finished handing out a detention for vandalising school property _(as flattering as this is, Jimmy, my breasts are not that large, and they certainly do not need to be etched onto this desk forever. Asshole.)_

Her lunch break did not bring about much of a reprieve as Regina was not in her usual spot opposite her desk.  

_I don't even know what I expected._

_She's probably not going to talk to me ever again. Really nice going._

_She hates me fore- wait she did say that she had to tutor some poor kid in English today._

_Never mind._  

Whatever her reasons, Regina's absence made Emma even more miserable. She didn't depend on her student for happiness, no, but in times like these she was uniquely qualified to cheer Emma up. She always had an innate ability to make Emma smile no matter what with a witty remark, an unimpressed glare or you know, pretty much just her existence alone. 

_I'm so in over my head._

After eating lunch alone and using her free period to organise files ( _why is Regina so much better at this than me?_ ) the teacher was dreading her last class of the day. If the Juniors were bad, God knows what her senior class would come up with. Most of them were truly good kids but every year has that couple of 'cool' rebels, and it just so happens that a lot of them were in Emma's Government and Politics class.  

And of course, so was Regina.  

Emma's nerves were doing nothing to help her already full-blown bitch mode, so her entrance was marked by a loud bang as the door she swung open slammed into the wall beside it.  

_Well, that's one way of getting attention._  

"I'm sure that by now the rumours have spread. I am not in the greatest of moods and I would appreciate a little quiet from the class. Your work will be up on the powerpoint, if you have any questions please save them for the end of the class." 

Making a point of not searching out the beautiful chocolate eyes that she knew would be so full of concern, the blonde settled down and began silently marking. 

As she predicted, whispers began travelling around the room. She caught a few nasty words she was pretty sure were aimed at her but they were quiet enough to let them go. Around fifteen minutes in the noise had gotten to the point where she had to yell at her students to concentrate, which prompted even more delightful nicknames.  

At the fifty four minute mark she had issued no less than three detentions and she was about two seconds away from losing it.  

"Bitch" whispered one of the most troublesome boys in the year. 

"Who the fuck does she think she is? This is bullshit, she can't teach to save her life" 

"The stupid cunt doesn't even know-" 

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" 

Emma was incredibly surprised when she realised that was not her own voice. Her head snapped up to a scene that would have been comical had it not been for the tension vibrating around the room. 

Regina had grabbed Jack's shirt and leant in close. Her voice dropped to a menacing whisper as her face warped into an expression that could  strike fear in the hearts of even the bravest souls. 

"You listen to me and you listen close. Emma Swan is ten times the person you will ever be. She is  the kindest, most compassionate soul I have ever met, you are not even fit to walk the same halls as her. Everyone is entitled to a day of peace and quiet. How dare you even open your mouth in this class? If you ever disrespect her that way again, I will destroy you. If it is the last thing I do." 

Fourteen pairs of wide eyes watched the scene unfold with terror. Who knew Regina Mills was capable of that? 

"Regina" Emma approached her friend cautiously. "Please let him go". 

"Teacher's pet" hissed the boy, but thankfully Regina had decided he was no longer worth her time and backed away. 

The ringing of the bell signified the end of the day and the class desperately scurried out as fast as they could. Emma let Jack go, deciding to deal with him later. Right now there was only one person she could focus on. 

"My office. Now." 

Regina nodded defiantly and she led the way there with her head held high. 

Emma locked the door after the brunette and slowly turned around. Tears streamed down her face and she let out a sob. 

Regina's façade broke when she saw Emma's tears.  

"Emma, God, I'm so sorry. I wasn't thinking. He was just saying such awful things and you didn't deserve any of that. I know I've stepped way out of line and-" 

"Regina" the blonde wiped at her eyes fruitlessly with her sleeve.  

 "Thank you" Emma gazed into her protector's eyes. 

"For what? I-" 

"I've never had anyone stand up for me before" the teacher smiled sadly, briefly remembering the countless homes and families she's had to endure. None of them caring even a fraction as much as the girl in front of her did. 

"I don't believe for a second that no one would stand up for someone that's so..so..everything" 

Maybe it was the emotional high. Maybe she was feeling sentimental. Maybe she was so used to having nothing hearing those words just sparked something inside her. 

Maybe it was none of those things. 

_Maybe,_  Emma thought as she closed the distance between them, recklessly capturing Regina's lips with her own, _I'm in love with Regina Mills._  

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading, you're a star :* I have this fic pretty thoroughly planned out (although it will probably be thrown out the window at some point) and I estimate around 20 or so chapters. Updates will depend on my level of busyness, my feelings on the latest episode and the position of the stars. I'm planning on writing the second chapter tonight (British time) but I make no promises. I started writing fics mostly because I don't feel like I'm really in the fandom so please feel free to hit me up- my url is whitegoldcrowns. All comments/suggestions/improvements etc are more than welcome. Viva La Swan Queen!


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